Enjoy a taste of the tropics and give yourself a healthy start to the day with this creamy no-sugar-added Pineapple Banana Smoothie!

Winter is the season for indulgence and comfort food, but summer for me is all about healthy, fresh choices that make you feel light yet satisfied. There are so many delicious fruits that come into season during the summer, making eating healthy super easy.

This pineapple banana smoothie is a bright and tasty smoothie that works well for breakfast, dessert or a mid-day pick-me-up. Toss in some chia seeds or flax meal to bump up the health quotient, and enjoy this smoothie with your kids!

For a vegan and even more tropical-flavored twist, use coconut milk for the milk of choice in this recipe.

(You can even freeze this recipe to make delicious tropical-inspired popsicles.)

Pineapple Banana Smoothie Ingredients

1 cup frozen pineapple chunks

½ banana

2 cups milk of choice

Give your smoothie a boost with these optional add-ins:

1/2 Tablespoon honey

2 Tablespoons chia seeds

*Note: substitute almond or cashew milk for a non-dairy smoothie.

Directions:

Peel and slice the banana.

Add sliced banana and the pineapple chunks to a blender. For an extra frosty smoothie, freeze the banana and pineapple first.

Add milk and any optional ingredients you’d like.

Pulse until fully combined and the honey is dissolved, about 1 minute. Pour and enjoy!

What’s inside: A healthy copycat of Starbuck’s Limited Edition Unicorn Frappuccino that you can feel good about giving your kids.

Are your kids begging to try the crazy colorful Unicorn Frappuccino, but you’re worried about the high sugar content?

We’ve got the perfect solution for you with our Healthy Copycat Unicorn Frappuccino! This guilt-free treat is made with simple, everyday ingredients, and it’s still brilliantly bright and fun!

Many coffee-shop frappuccino drinks contain tons of sugar and flavorings, so the Unicorn Frappuccino is no different in that regard. However, the Unicorn Frappuccino is especially appealing to kids, who might not understand the effects of sugar and artificial additives.

So, what’s a parent to do?

Kids see these vibrant blue and pink unicorn frappuccinos, and of course they want ’em! While it’s no fun to be the “meanie” and deprive our kids of this magical beverage, but we know what’s coming if we give in and buy these crazy concoctions: a sugar rush and/or upset tummy.

This is the inspiration behind our delicious and fun Healthy Copycat Unicorn Frappuccino. We wanted to give our kids something exciting and good for them.

Here’s what makes our Healthy Unicorn Frappuccino recipe so fabulous:

Changes color while you make it

Made with real fruit

Good source of protein and calcium

Lower sugar than coffee-shop frappes

No artificial dyes or flavorings

This delicious unicorn smoothie has a strawberry base with swirls of magical blue yogurt. You can also incorporate swirls of mango puree to be true to the original and, if you’re not opposed to a small amount of added sugar and/or food dye, you can add some whipped cream and sprinkles or edible glitter to finish off your magical smoothie.

Healthy Copycat Unicorn Frappuccino Ingredients

2 cups frozen strawberries

3 cups yogurt, flavoured if desired

1/2 cup milk of choice

1/2 purple cabbage

Water

Blue edible glitter, optional*

Whipped cream, optional

1 cup ice, optional

Honey, optional, to taste

Tip: to make this recipe more smoothie-like, skip the ice. For a more frappuccino-like texture, add the ice.

**Edible glitter and/or sprinkles do add a small amount of added sugar and coloring.

How to Make a Healthy Unicorn Frappuccino

First, we need to make a homemade and healthy blue food dye. I used to buy mine at a health food store but it’s become increasingly harder to find, so I’m loving the option of making my own!

Chop up half of a red cabbage and place in a soup pan. Add enough water to just cover the cabbage.

Boil for 20 minutes, then place a colander over a large bowl and drain to remove the cabbage.

Set the cabbage aside for another recipe (like Jennifer’s Colcannon Mashed Potatoes, yum!) and place the purple water back into the soup pan to boil carefully for an additional 5-10 minutes, until it’s reduced to about 1/4 cup. (I burnt my first batch so watch this carefully.)

Pour the purple water into a measuring cup and allow to cool.

When it’s cool, add 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of baking soda to magically change the purple water blue! You can also use lemon juice to achieve this reaction but I didn’t want to add another flavor to the smoothie.

TO MAKE THE UNICORN FRAPPUCCINO:

Add a bit of the blue food coloring to 1 cup of the yogurt, and then thin it out with the milk. Set aside.

Combine the strawberries, remaining yogurt and optional ice to a high-powered smoothie blender. Pulse until it reaches a creamy, uniform texture. You can add about 1 Tablespoon of honey if you want a sweeter smoothie.

Fill each glass about 1/3 of the way with the pink strawberry smoothie, and then add a swirl of the blue yogurt. Repeat until the glass is full.

Finish it off with a swirl of whipped cream and a light dusting of edible blue glitter, optional.

Chop up half of a red cabbage and place in a soup pan. Add enough water to just cover the cabbage.

Boil for 20 minutes, then place a colander over a large bowl and drain to remove the cabbage.

Set the cabbage aside for another recipe and place the purple water back into the soup pan to boil carefully for an additional 5-10 minutes, until it's reduced to about 1/4 cup.

Pour the purple water into a measuring cup and allow to cool.

When it's cool, add 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of baking soda to magically change the purple water blue!

Add a bit of the blue food coloring to 1 cup of the yogurt, and then thin it out with the milk. Set aside.

Combine the strawberries, remaining yogurt and optional ice to a high-powered smoothie blender. Pulse until it reaches a creamy, uniform texture. You can add about 1 Tablespoon of honey if you want a sweeter smoothie.

Fill each glass about 1/3 of the way with the pink strawberry smoothie, and then add a swirl of the blue yogurt. Repeat until the glass is full.

Finish it off with a swirl of whipped cream and a light dusting of edible blue glitter, optional.

Muffins are a great all-purpose snack – serving as a quick on-the-go breakfast or a delicious and filling afternoon treat. But you have to be careful – so many muffin recipes out there are essentially cupcakes without the frosting!

These Healthy Greek Yogurt Chocolate Muffins are our new favourite decadent muffin recipe without the guilt – and I bet your family is going to love them, too!

My kids think these healthy chocolate muffins are actually cupcakes, especially when they are spread with a bit of cream cheese – and I’m all for keeping up the facade. They can also help with making the muffins, because you don’t have to worry about lumps in the batter – they bake out.

While these muffins are made with a bit of sugar and melted chocolate, they use considerably less sugar than your average muffin recipe, as well as very little butter and no oil.

I’ve also made them with a bit of flax meal substituted for the flour, which makes for a slightly tougher muffin but delivers extra protein and fibre. Flax meal is the powerhouse ingredient in my sugar-free banana bread recipe.

Ingredients for Greek Yogurt Chocolate Muffins

1 ½ cups all purposed flour

4 Tablespoons butter

¾ cup Greek yogurt

¼ cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ cup melted chocolate

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

½ cup Milk

½ cup sugar

Tip: These muffins can be frozen for up to one month. You can also substitute 1/4 cup of the flour with 1/4 cup flax meal if your family could use some extra fibre and protein.

For more delicious recipe for baking with kids, check out:

French fries are almost universally a hit with kids. But let’s face it, they’re not exactly the healthiest food option. That’s why we love these Baked Avocado Fries as a more nutritious alternative to a junk food favorite!

Why avocados?

Avocados are one of nature’s superfoods! They contain almost 20 vitamins and minerals in every serving — including those awesome B-vitamins that provide energy and an immunity-boost. Avocados are also high in good fats, fiber, and calories, all of which help you feel full longer. (Source) Avocados are also highly recommended by paediatricians to help get healthy fats into young children or those that are at a risk for being underweight. They are a great snack after a busy day of running around or playing in the backyard and there are so many ways to enjoy them – and first up is our crunchy avocado fries recipe!

Crispy on the outside, rich and creamy on the inside — these avocado fries are a delight to the taste buds! Plus, your kids will have a blast helping you make these by dipping and battering the slices… and of course chowing down afterwards!

You can easily double or triple this avocado fries recipe for a crowd, but I’m not really a fan of prepping them ahead of time. Part of their allure is that crunchy coating – which just doesn’t reheat well. Luckily, this recipe takes less than 20 minutes to prepare, from pulling out the ingredients to pulling these beauties out of the oven, so they are a quick side dish you can add to just about any meal – or a fun appetizer to sneak in the veggies before the main dish is served! They’d also make a great late night snack or a movie night appetizer.

(Now, not everyone is a fan of baked avocado. My daughter loves this recipe, while I prefer my avocados raw – spread on toast, used for homemade guacamole, or just with a bit of salt and pepper. If your children don’t love this recipe, be sure to try a couple of our other delicious avocado recipes – like our Mint Chip Avocado Nice Cream recipe, perhaps? – because it may just be that they are like me and don’t like baked avocado. We also have an Avocado Pasta Salad recipe coming up, soon – so keep an eye out for that!)

My daughter loves these with a side of sriracha mayo, but they really don’t need any dip to make them more delicious – they are fries after all!

How to Make Baked Avocado Fries

While oven preheats, combine the bread crumbs, parika, and salt in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.

Cut avocados in half vertically and remove the pits. Carefully slice each avocado half vertically down to the peel. Using a large spoon, scoop the avocado slices out of their peels.

Brush each avocado slice with a beaten egg and coat in bread crumbs (repeat process for a thicker coating). You may also dip avocado slices in a bowl with the eggs, then roll them in a plate with the bread crumbs.

Place avocado slices in baking dish (or baking sheet covered with one of these versatile, non-stick silicon baking mats) and drizzle olive oil on top.

TIP: Add a sprinkle of fresh lime juice to preserve the avocado color while baking.

While oven preheats, combine the bread crumbs, parika, and salt in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.

Cut avocados in half vertically and remove the pits. Carefully slice each avocado half vertically down to the peel. Using a large spoon, scoop the avocado slices out of their peels.

Brush each avocado slice with a beaten egg and coat in bread crumbs (repeat process for a thicker coating). You may also dip avocado slices in a bowl with the eggs, then roll them in a plate with the bread crumbs.

Place avocado slices in baking dish (or baking sheet covered with one of these versatile, non-stick silicon baking mats) and drizzle olive oil on top.

TIP: Add a sprinkle of fresh lime juice to preserve the avocado color while baking.

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Hi there & welcome!

We're Stacey and Jennifer, and we're so glad you stopped by to visit! In the Kids Kitchen is our place to share inspiration to cook, play, and learn with your kids. From tips for teaching kitchen skills, to family-friendly recipes, kitchen crafts & sensory play, cookbook reviews, and more!